Did You Say Mustache Bracelet?:

Making jewelery is so fun and you can save quite a bit of money as well.  When I was in high school I would make necklaces out of everything.  I really mean everything too.  One time I made a necklace with a little plastic cow as the charm.  That may not have been the most fashionable necklace I've ever made, but it's an example of how creative you can get.  I made the fork bracelet I have out of a dining hall fork.  It looks nice and as an added bonus it was free!  Another piece of jewelery that gets a bit of attention is my key necklace.  I just put an antique skeleton key that was in my house on a chain.  It too was free, but if you don't have a key laying around you can get them at almost every antique store for about 5 dollars.  If you like being crafty you can buy all of the parts to make jewelery from Michael's and put it together yourself and save a whole bunch of money. 

Today I was feeling ambitious and decided I was going to start making jewelery and headbands for the lowest price I could manage.  The first thing I put together is a mustache bracelet.  I got the inspiration for it from a friend who has a mustache necklace.  They look really interesting and they're so easy to make.   I looked online to see how much they're normally sold for and I was shocked.  A felt mustache necklace can range anywhere from 10 to 32 dollars.  The materials I used for mine cost a total of $2.43 and I have enough left over stuff to probably make 5-6 more.

To do this you'll need scissors, a piece of felt (any color you want) embroidery thread (any color would be fine as well) a needle, a cotton ball and a piece of twine or hemp cord.  It can all be purchased at a craft store.  I chose dark brown for my mustache with burgundy thread.  

Start by cutting two rectangles of felt.

 Lay the rectangles on top of one another and start cutting to shape them like a mustache.

You should end up with a mirror image.

 Thread the needle.

 Lay the two pieces on top of one another with a long piece of hemp cord between them.  Start on the top of one side and begin stitching the two mustaches together. 

 Before one side gets sealed, tear up the cotton ball and stuff a bit of it inside to give the mustache some depth.  Continue stitching around the edge.

 When you're finished it should look a little something like this. 

 You can play with it...

or wear it as a bracelet. (I'll probably just end up playing with mine.)

I know mustaches may not be everyone's cup of tea so through out the next few days I'm going to experiment with feather/button headbands.  I encourage you to go to craft stores and just look around.  I promise I'm not really creative or crafty, I just like saving money.  So if I can do it, I know you can too!